My friend made it. He's a wholesaler of optical frames and sells these frames to shops here.
He went to China with his optometrist gf, first to HK to source for designs and twist the designs a little and have factories in China make them.
Then he goes door-to-door to optical shops here, from the heartland shops to the heartland malls. His frames are the low range type and he sells them for around $25 each at a profit of around $15. I did a quick check and found that the frames with lenses cost around $170.
Some shops bought 4 frames from him, some bought 12 to 20. It adds up to hundreds collectively. In the mere 3 months into the business, he broke even and even made a profit.
His biz is a sole proprietor and he's on currently on a one-man operation.
He just bought a car and he's roping in a friend/ex-colleague to help him sell the stuff. The cost of running this biz is minimal as he runs from a home office.
Eventually, he hopes to employ more salesman and concentrate on the administrative work.
Is his business model stable? What would be the causes of failure of his business?